The climate of the UAE proposes many challenges to the successful implementation of electric vehicles. Firstly, the extreme heat can greatly effect battery life. Tesla notes that their Model S can travel 632 kilometres on full charge, with Model X following closely at 565 kilometres. However, this is based on driving without air conditioning and does not account for the sandy conditions of the UAE. Although not expressed to be a way to overcome this challenge, solar vehicles or a hybrid design could enhance battery life. Developer will also need to work on developing efficient batteries and charges given the small number of charging stations currently placed around the UAE.
A second issue is being able to provide those who live in high-rise buildings with charging stations in the car parks of their buildings. For those owners of electric vehicles who may live in a villa, the installation and space should be available to install their own private charging station, which should therefore not be an issue, unless price of purchasing and installing one is prohibitively costly. High-rise residents will have to rely on the construction buildings taking into account the installation of enough accessible charging stations within the car park for all residents. Where the buildings are not new builds. Existing owners will need to be incentivised to have these installed. With the cost of electricity being high in the UAE, free charging stations would be one way to overcome this challenge.
Petrol prices in the UAE have historically been very low. In order to incentivise individuals to move away from traditional petrol vehicles, charging electric vehicles will need to compete with these low prices. DEWA’s managing director has stated that it would be 80% cheaper to charge an electric car than fill up the tank of a petrol vehicle. To charge a Tesla X it would cost AED 29 compared to AED 150 to fill up a similar petrol model.
Public charging stations will need to have an efficient system in place to prevent unnecessary delays to their customers. Petrol stations, particularly those on main transit routes, can face delays at peak times. For electric vehicles, the process of charging will take significantly longer than filling a traditional petrol or diesel vehicle. The creation of an efficient, publically accessible and user-friendly charging infrastructure will be essential. The government will need to ensure charging stations are located near retail spaces such as malls, supermarkets, banks, restaurants and fast food chains, and leisure facilities to allow drivers to go about their everyday lives whilst allowing their vehicles to charge at the same time.
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